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Intraspecific trait variation alters the outcome of competition in freshwater ciliates

  • Trait variation among heterospecific and conspecific organisms may substantially affect community and food web dynamics. While the relevance of competition and feeding traits have been widely studied for different consumer species, studies on intraspecific differences are more scarce, partly owing to difficulties in distinguishing different clones of the same species. Here, we investigate how intraspecific trait variation affects the competition between the freshwater ciliates Euplotes octocarinatus and Coleps hirtus in a nitrogen-limited chemostat system. The ciliates competed for the microalgae Cryptomonas sp. (Cry) and Navicula pelliculosa (Nav), and the bacteria present in the cultures over a period of 33 days. We used monoclonal Euplotes and three different Coleps clones (Col 1, Col 2, and Col 3) in the experiment that could be distinguished by a newly developed rDNA-based molecular assay based on the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) regions. While Euplotes feeds on Cry and on bacteria, the Coleps clones cannot survive onTrait variation among heterospecific and conspecific organisms may substantially affect community and food web dynamics. While the relevance of competition and feeding traits have been widely studied for different consumer species, studies on intraspecific differences are more scarce, partly owing to difficulties in distinguishing different clones of the same species. Here, we investigate how intraspecific trait variation affects the competition between the freshwater ciliates Euplotes octocarinatus and Coleps hirtus in a nitrogen-limited chemostat system. The ciliates competed for the microalgae Cryptomonas sp. (Cry) and Navicula pelliculosa (Nav), and the bacteria present in the cultures over a period of 33 days. We used monoclonal Euplotes and three different Coleps clones (Col 1, Col 2, and Col 3) in the experiment that could be distinguished by a newly developed rDNA-based molecular assay based on the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) regions. While Euplotes feeds on Cry and on bacteria, the Coleps clones cannot survive on bacteria alone but feed on both Cry and Nav with clone-specific rates. Experimental treatments comprised two-species mixtures of Euplotes and one or all of the three different Coleps clones, respectively. We found intraspecific variation in the traits "selectivity" and "maximum ingestion rate" for the different algae to significantly affect the competitive outcome between the two ciliate species. As Nav quickly escaped top-down control and likely reached a state of low food quality, ciliate competition was strongly determined by the preference of different Coleps clones for Cry as opposed to feeding on Nav. In addition, the ability of Euplotes to use bacteria as an alternative food source strengthened its persistence once Cry was depleted. Hence, trait variation at both trophic levels codetermined the population dynamics and the outcome of species competition.zeige mehrzeige weniger

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Metadaten
Verfasserangaben:Sabine FlöderORCiD, Joanne Yong, Toni KlauschiesORCiDGND, Ursula GaedkeORCiDGND, Tobias Poprick, Thorsten Brinkhoff, Stefanie MoorthiORCiD
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.7828
ISSN:2045-7758
Pubmed ID:https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34367571
Titel des übergeordneten Werks (Englisch):Ecology and evolution
Verlag:Wiley
Verlagsort:Hoboken
Publikationstyp:Wissenschaftlicher Artikel
Sprache:Englisch
Datum der Erstveröffentlichung:29.06.2021
Erscheinungsjahr:2021
Datum der Freischaltung:04.10.2023
Freies Schlagwort / Tag:ciliate predators; intraspecific trait variation; microalgal resource; predator trait variation; predator-prey systems; resource competition
Band:11
Ausgabe:15
Seitenanzahl:19
Erste Seite:10225
Letzte Seite:10243
Fördernde Institution:Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft German Research Foundation (DFG) [394736697]
Organisationseinheiten:Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Fakultät / Institut für Biochemie und Biologie
DDC-Klassifikation:5 Naturwissenschaften und Mathematik / 50 Naturwissenschaften / 500 Naturwissenschaften und Mathematik
5 Naturwissenschaften und Mathematik / 57 Biowissenschaften; Biologie / 570 Biowissenschaften; Biologie
Peer Review:Referiert
Publikationsweg:Open Access / Gold Open-Access
Lizenz (Deutsch):License LogoCC-BY - Namensnennung 4.0 International
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